Ta'sis al-Shi'a li-'ulum al-Islam (book)

Ta'sis al-Shi'a li-'ulum al-Islam

Author	Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr
Original title	Ta'sis al-Shi'a al-kiram li-funun al-Islam
Language	Arabic
Subject	Generalities of Islam, history of Islam and the Shi'a
Published	1438/2016-17
Publisher	Turath al-Shi'a Institute
Awards	Seminary Book of the Year and Islamic Republic of Iran Book of the Year

Ta'sīs al-Shī'a li-'ulūm al-Islām (Arabic: تأسیس الشیعة لعلوم الاسلام), also known as Ta'sīs al-Shī'ati l-kirām li-funūn al-Islām or Ta'sīs al-Shī'ati l-kirām li-kulli 'ulūm al-Islām, is the magnum opus of Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr (1272/1855-56–1354/1935). Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr composed this work as a rebuttal to the assertions of Jurji Zaydan (d. 1914), who contended that the Shi'a were a marginal sect that had become extinct without leaving any significant intellectual legacy.

Across fourteen sections, the work elucidates the pivotal role of the Twelver Shi'a in the founding and advancement of the Islamic sciences. A critical edition of this book, featuring research and commentary, was awarded the Seminary Book of the Year and the Islamic Republic of Iran Book of the Year prizes in 2017. In 1330 AH/1911-12, Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr produced an abridged version titled al-Shi'a wa funun al-Islam, in which he reorganized the classification of the sciences.

Author

Main article: Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr

Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr was born in 1272/1856 in Kadhimiya. Following seventeen years of study at the Seminary of Najaf, he attained the rank of Ijtihad in jurisprudence and principles of jurisprudence. His mastery of the science of hadith earned him the epithet "The Muhaddith of Kadhimiya". Prominent among his teachers were Mirza Shirazi and Mulla Husayn Quli Hamadani. Upon the demise of Mirza Shirazi, he ascended to the position of a Shi'a Maraji'. He authored 82 books, the most renowned being Ta'sis al-Shi'a. Al-Sadr passed away in 1354/1935 and was interred in Kadhimiya.

Name of the Work

In the initial draft, Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr titled the work Ta'sis al-Shi'ati l-kiram li-funun al-Islam. However, in the introduction to an alternative manuscript, he referred to it as Ta'sis al-Shi'at l-kiram li-kulli 'ulum al-Islam, while in the preface to al-Shi'a wa funun al-Islam, he cited it as Ta'sis al-Shi'a al-kiram li-'ulum al-Islam. Agha Buzurg Tihrani also recorded it in al-Dhari'a under the title Ta'sis al-Shi'at l-kiram li-funun al-Islam.

Motivation and Objective

With the objective of demonstrating the Shi'a contribution to the establishment and perfection of Islamic sciences, Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr authored Ta'sis al-Shi'a li-'ulum al-Islam in 1328/1910, publishing it in 1370/1951. This work served as a direct response to the allegations of Jurji Zaydan (d. 1914), who claimed that the Shi'a were a minor, vanished group that left no significant intellectual impact.

Structure

Structurally, the book comprises an introduction and fourteen chapters detailing Shi'a leadership in various Islamic sciences|Islamic sciences and arts. The chapters are organized as follows:

1. Grammar (Nahw)
2. Morphology (Sarf)
3. Lexicology (Lugha)
4. Semantics, Rhetoric, and Eloquence (Ma'ani, Bayan, and Badi')
5. Prosody ('Arud)
6. Poetic arts and methods
7. History and Siyar
8. Science of Hadith
9. Foundation and growth of the science of hadith
10. Science of Jurisprudence
11. Science of the Principles of Jurisprudence
12. Quranic Sciences
13. Science of Theology
14. Science of Ethics.

Content

Key themes and assertions within the text include:

• Following the invocation of God's name and praise for entrusting the keys of the Islamic sciences to the Shi'a, the author discusses the Shi'a and their scholars. He argues that Shi'ism has existed since the era of the Prophet (s), whereas the term Ahl al-Sunna emerged later, following the Peace Treaty of Imam al-Hasan (a) with Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan.
• By "Shi'a," the author specifically refers to the Twelver Shi'a, excluding the Zaydi or Isma'ili branches. Consequently, he omits Ibn Sina, whom he categorizes as a Zaydi Shi'a.
• Al-Sadr identifies Abu l-Aswad al-Du'ali as the founder of the science of grammar, describing him as a devout Shi'a and an eloquent poet who undertook this task under the instruction and guidance of Imam 'Ali (a).
• Regarding the science of exegesis, the author designates Sa'id b. Jubayr as the pioneer, asserting that no prior scholar had authored a work on exegesis. Al-Sadr further cites the work of the Shi'a rijal scholar Muhammad b. 'Umar al-Kashshi to demonstrate that Sa'id b. Jubayr's martyrdom at the hands of Hajjaj was due to his Shi'a faith.
• Sayyid Hasan posits that al-Hakim al-Nishaburi (d. 405/1014-15) was the first to write on the science of diraya. He cites Sunni scholars such as Ibn Taymiyya, 'Abd al-Karim al-Sam'ani (d. 562/1166-67), and Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi (d. 748/1347-48) who affirmed al-Nishaburi's Shi'a affiliation. Dhahabi, in Siyar a'lam al-nubala, described al-Hakim al-Nishaburi as a Sunni with Shi'a leanings.
• Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr names Imam 'Ali (a) as the first author on Ethics, referencing a letter the Imam wrote to his son while returning from the Battle of Siffin.

Method

Al-Sadr's citation method is inconsistent: references are embedded in the text, sometimes pairing the page number with the book title and at other times citing only the title. Bibliographic details regarding editions are sporadically mentioned or remain ambiguous.

Additionally, while Ta'sis al-Shi'a begins with grammar and concludes with ethics, al-Sadr's abridged version, al-Shi'a wa funun al-Islam, departs from the original sequence. Instead, he claimed to reorganize the sciences according to a hierarchy of nobility, commencing with Quranic sciences and ending with grammar.

Editions and Prints

Two printed editions of Ta'sis al-Shi'a exist:

1. The first edition, titled Ta'sis al-Shi'a li-'ulum al-Islam, was published in Tehran in 1990-91 by Mu'assasat al-A'lami li-l-Matbu'at. This version was translated into Persian in 2003 by 'Ali Mushtaq 'Askari Mahallati under the title Shi'a banyanguzaran-i farhang-i Islam and published in Tehran by Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya.
2. The second edition, titled Ta'sis al-Shi'a al-kiram li-'ulum al-Islam, was published in two volumes in Qom in 1438/2016-17. This edition, featuring research by Muhammad Jawad Mahmudi and commentary by Sayyid 'Abd al-Sattar al-Hasani al-Baghdadi, was released by the Turath al-Shi'a Institute. It was recognized as the "Selected Work" at the 19th Seminary Book of the Year Festival and received the 35th Islamic Republic of Iran Book of the Year award in the field of religion.